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How can I pretend to be from the EU so that I get better protection from Facebook? Are there any cheap and trustable VPNs (I don't use Facebook a lot, and certa

How can I pretend to be from the EU so that I get better protection from Facebook? Are there any cheap and trustable VPNs (I don't use Facebook a lot, and certainly not to watch bandwidth/traffic intensive videos) that would help for this? Any other solutions? How can such solutions be spread around so that more users get these protections, regardless of where they physically live?

PacifyFish 9y ago
"Move" to Estonia: https://e-resident.gov.ee/become-an-e-resident/ https://e-resident.gov.ee/become-an-e-resident/
- craftyguy 9y ago
  Well that's interesting. It's still not clear after reading the FAQ whether or not you'd become a citizen or not. It largely seems to be a way to register your company in the country (and pay taxes to them). Are you still afforded the same protections as citizens of EU countries? (if not, then this obviously wouldn't help GP in the quest to protect themselves from facebook)
  - Forlien 9y ago
    From their page when you click apply: > NB! Please be aware that e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, residence or right of entry to Estonia or to the European Union. It is not a visa or residence permit. Too bad. It looks like this can't make you a citizen of the EU.
craftyguy 9y ago
> How can I pretend to be from the EU so that I get better protection from Facebook You don't have to. You can start today by not giving facebook any more information (stop using their service). If facebook bleeds enough users, maybe they'll become motivated to change. I seriously doubt, at least in the US, that we'll see any legislation that forces them to change here.
- gboudrias 9y ago
  > If facebook bleeds enough users, maybe they'll become motivated to change By that point, they'll he on their last leg, and we'll be worrying about the next social network.
  - manigandham 9y ago
    Facebook will acquire and own the next social network. They have Instagram, Whatsapp and tbh already. Facebook.com is just the older network and 1 shell of the entire Facebook machine.
- Sylos 9y ago
  Facebook will still have a lot of data on you, even if you don't use their services. Their Like-Buttons that are spread on a lot of the web, allow them to track your IP-address and what webpage you're on (thanks to the HTTP referrer). They also have an analytics library that some webpages use, giving them the same data and more. And your friends probably have you in their contacts on their phones, which is uploaded to WhatsApp's server (unless none of them uses WhatsApp).
  - craftyguy 9y ago
    > Facebook will still have a lot of data on you, even if you don't use their services. That doesn't mean you should not stop giving them even more information by you directly using their services. There are various mechanisms to preventing tracking like using an ad blocker to prevent loading tracking elements, preventing 3rd party cookies from being set, using something like noscript to block javascript from facebook/google/etc, and using Tor. Many of these don't take long at all to configure.
    - Sylos 9y ago
      Which is definitely not what I was trying to argue here. You implied that one does not need governmental help to protect against Facebook. That's what I argued against. No matter how informed you are about Facebook's practices and no matter how technologically skilled you are, you cannot be sure that Facebook doesn't have your data.
axau 9y ago
Related question: is it enough to be a EU citizen, or must one also live in the EU?
- FridgeSeal 9y ago
  It is sufficient to be an EU Citizen (to the best of my understanding).

PacifyFish 9y ago

"Move" to Estonia: https://e-resident.gov.ee/become-an-e-resident/ https://e-resident.gov.ee/become-an-e-resident/

craftyguy 9y ago
Well that's interesting. It's still not clear after reading the FAQ whether or not you'd become a citizen or not. It largely seems to be a way to register your company in the country (and pay taxes to them). Are you still afforded the same protections as citizens of EU countries? (if not, then this obviously wouldn't help GP in the quest to protect themselves from facebook)
- Forlien 9y ago
  From their page when you click apply: > NB! Please be aware that e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, residence or right of entry to Estonia or to the European Union. It is not a visa or residence permit. Too bad. It looks like this can't make you a citizen of the EU.

craftyguy 9y ago

> How can I pretend to be from the EU so that I get better protection from Facebook You don't have to. You can start today by not giving facebook any more information (stop using their service). If facebook bleeds enough users, maybe they'll become motivated to change. I seriously doubt, at least in the US, that we'll see any legislation that forces them to change here.

gboudrias 9y ago
> If facebook bleeds enough users, maybe they'll become motivated to change By that point, they'll he on their last leg, and we'll be worrying about the next social network.
- manigandham 9y ago
  Facebook will acquire and own the next social network. They have Instagram, Whatsapp and tbh already. Facebook.com is just the older network and 1 shell of the entire Facebook machine.
Sylos 9y ago
Facebook will still have a lot of data on you, even if you don't use their services. Their Like-Buttons that are spread on a lot of the web, allow them to track your IP-address and what webpage you're on (thanks to the HTTP referrer). They also have an analytics library that some webpages use, giving them the same data and more. And your friends probably have you in their contacts on their phones, which is uploaded to WhatsApp's server (unless none of them uses WhatsApp).
- craftyguy 9y ago
  > Facebook will still have a lot of data on you, even if you don't use their services. That doesn't mean you should not stop giving them even more information by you directly using their services. There are various mechanisms to preventing tracking like using an ad blocker to prevent loading tracking elements, preventing 3rd party cookies from being set, using something like noscript to block javascript from facebook/google/etc, and using Tor. Many of these don't take long at all to configure.
  - Sylos 9y ago
    Which is definitely not what I was trying to argue here. You implied that one does not need governmental help to protect against Facebook. That's what I argued against. No matter how informed you are about Facebook's practices and no matter how technologically skilled you are, you cannot be sure that Facebook doesn't have your data.

axau 9y ago

Related question: is it enough to be a EU citizen, or must one also live in the EU?

FridgeSeal 9y ago
It is sufficient to be an EU Citizen (to the best of my understanding).